All Forum Posts by: Greg Cooksey

Bryan, how do you get around the funding fee? Do you have a service connected disability? I hope that's not too personal of a question. I still speak with him from time to time, I'll be sure to ask him as soon as I can. 

Something else that the VA loan offers that is very appealing to me is the benefits it offers on rehab loans. From what I understand, a VA rehab loan does not require you to pay on the mortgage until the rehab is complete.

This is a timely thread, as I am trying to learn as much as possible about the VA loan program right now. The funding fees for me would be 2.15% from what I understand, but the VA loan would still be a great option for me as a first time home buyer with a small savings account and less than $100K in income. I am still in school using my GI Bill, so I have not started working full time yet.

Justin, For buyers like myself, the VA loan requires no down payment, low interest rates, and, most importantly, almost guarantees that I will be approved for the loan. I can afford to pay the funding fee in cash. 

I'm almost done with school, and my wife has a great job, but we are currently renters. It would be great to be able to finance a rental property like a four-plex even if the positive cash flow was low. We could save the money we pay in rent right now and have our mortgage get paid down at the same time. Any extra cash would just be icing on the cake. 

Over time, we could refinance - free up the VA loan for future use.. and possibly use it again. At that point, we might be able to get financed with a regular mortgage, though.

I'm kind of just thinking out loud here, but that is the thought I'm currently entertaining and researching. I don't know for certain that we couldn't qualify for a regular mortgage without the VA loan, but I do know for certain that I don't have a significant down payment.

Bryan, my former Platoon Sergeant began using the VA loan before he retired (which I didn't know was possible) to buy houses in Twentynine Palms, CA and live in them for a short while. He would't do full rehabs on them, but he fixed them up enough to rent, and refinanced without using the VA loan so that he could have his entitlement restored. He would get pre-approved for another VA mortgage and do it all over again once he found a renter (which isn't hard in the middle of a desert military town).

From what I understand, he owns around ten properties in Southern California now, and he rents them all out. I do know that he doesn't do anything other than travel for pleasure right now.